In an adjustable pit mounted dockboard of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,017, the rear end of the ramp is hinged to the supporting structure so that the ramp can be moved from a generally horizontal, cross traffic position to an upwardly inclined position. Hinged to the forward edge of the ramp is a lip which is movable between a downwardly hanging pendant position and an extended position where the lip forms an extension to the ramp.
In the dockboard as shown in the aforementioned United States patent, the ramp is composed of a deck plate supported by a series of generally parallel, channel-shaped beams. The forward ends of the beams are connected together by a vertical header plate. In this type of construction, the beams are welded to the undersurface of the deck plate and the header is welded to the ends of the beam. The construction does not lend itself to automatic welding operations, and the welds joining the header to the beam ends must be made manually. U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,126 discloses a ramp construction in which the deck plate is supported by a series of beams composed of a vertical section and a lower horizontal flange. The forward ends of the flanges extend diagonally upward and are provided with a reverse bend to define an opening for the hinge pin. With the beam construction as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,126, the various components are difficult to form and welding must be done at various angles so that it is necessary to change the attitude or orientation of the deck plate during the welding operation. Again, this type of ramp construction does not lend itself to automatic welding procedures.